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Psalms 25:4-5,8-10 ESV
Some people today who are looking at faith in Jesus Christ as just a way to be forgiven of their sins so that when they die one day that they get to go to heaven, are missing out on the beauty of our relationship with God, with Jesus Christ (God the Son), and on all that God has for us, his people, who believe in him to be Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of our lives. For there is a whole lot more to belief in Jesus than just going to heaven.
And that is one of the things that I love about the Psalms, in general, is that so many of them describe for us what our walks of faith in Jesus Christ should look like if our faith in Christ is genuine repentant and obedient faith in our Lord Jesus. For when we believe in Jesus we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with him, and now he becomes our husband, and we become his bride (male and female), so this should be like a marriage.
Now we should love our Lord as a new bride loves her new husband, and we should want to please him. We should desire to be in fellowship with him and to spend time in conversation with him through the reading of his word and through prayer. And our lives should be committed to him, to be his only, and for us to not run after any “other lovers” (idols, other religions, the things of this world, sinful practices, and other beliefs, etc.).
And we should prefer the things that he prefers, which is what it means to love him. And we should be engaged in his activities in this world of ours and in what his desire and his plan is for our lives. For faith in Jesus Christ is not a status that we wear, but it means to be persuaded by God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn away from our sins and to follow him in obedience to his commands.
[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]
And fellowship with him involves us participating with him in his plan for our lives. For that is what Jesus meant when he said that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. It means we participate with him in death to sin and in living to righteousness. We must be crucified with him in death to sin and resurrected with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.
So, the way that is of the Lord is not a free ride into heaven while we still live in sin on this earth. That is like marrying someone just to get the benefits of a marriage relationship while you continue to have sexual unions with other people as a matter of life course. And I don’t know too many people who would be okay with that kind of a marriage relationship, although some might be. I am all for purity of the marriage relationship.
The way that is of the Lord, that we are to walk in as followers of Christ, is the way of moral purity, uprightness, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, devotion, holy living, righteousness, and obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. And it is the way of submission to Christ as Lord and surrender of our wills to the will of God. And it is to follow him in his ways day by day in doing whatever he wants us to do.
And in those walks of faith we find peace and joy and satisfaction in knowing that we are in the will of God, doing what he has called us to do, living lives which are pleasing to him, and that we are, thus, making a difference in this world of ours in impacting other people’s lives in a good way which may lead them to have faith in Jesus Christ and to also walk in his ways and in his truth because of our example, and because we are teachers of the truth.
So, be followers of Christ and not of the ways of this sinful world. Live holy lives pleasing to God and cease from living in sinful rebellion against our Lord and against his commands. Walk in his ways and in his truth, and love the people of this world with agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands, and you will be blessed for eternity.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Looking to Thee
By James Rowe (1865-1933)
Looking to Thee from day to day,
Trusting Thy grace along the way,
Knowing that Thou wilt safely keep all that is Thine;
Sure of Thy soul redeeming love,
Sure of a crown of life above,
Singing Thy praise I press along, Savior divine.
Looking to Thee for all I need,
Finding in Thee a Friend indeed,
All of the burdens of the day meekly I bear;
Neither the foe nor storm I fear,
Savior divine, for Thou art near,
Ready my cares and troubles all freely to share.
After a while in heaven bright,
Where there is neither sin nor night,
I shall behold Thee, face to face, Jesus my own;
Then with the saved ones gone before,
I shall with rapture, more and more,
Praise Thee forever, near the bright, beautiful throne.
Looking to Thee, Trusting thy grace,
I am as happy as a true soldier can be;
Nearing my own heavenly place,
Trusting Thy love I press along looking to Thee.
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Public Domain (This hymn is free to use for display and print)
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
“Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
Some people today who are looking at faith in Jesus Christ as just a way to be forgiven of their sins so that when they die one day that they get to go to heaven, are missing out on the beauty of our relationship with God, with Jesus Christ (God the Son), and on all that God has for us, his people, who believe in him to be Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of our lives. For there is a whole lot more to belief in Jesus than just going to heaven.
And that is one of the things that I love about the Psalms, in general, is that so many of them describe for us what our walks of faith in Jesus Christ should look like if our faith in Christ is genuine repentant and obedient faith in our Lord Jesus. For when we believe in Jesus we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with him, and now he becomes our husband, and we become his bride (male and female), so this should be like a marriage.
Now we should love our Lord as a new bride loves her new husband, and we should want to please him. We should desire to be in fellowship with him and to spend time in conversation with him through the reading of his word and through prayer. And our lives should be committed to him, to be his only, and for us to not run after any “other lovers” (idols, other religions, the things of this world, sinful practices, and other beliefs, etc.).
And we should prefer the things that he prefers, which is what it means to love him. And we should be engaged in his activities in this world of ours and in what his desire and his plan is for our lives. For faith in Jesus Christ is not a status that we wear, but it means to be persuaded by God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn away from our sins and to follow him in obedience to his commands.
[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]
And fellowship with him involves us participating with him in his plan for our lives. For that is what Jesus meant when he said that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. It means we participate with him in death to sin and in living to righteousness. We must be crucified with him in death to sin and resurrected with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.
So, the way that is of the Lord is not a free ride into heaven while we still live in sin on this earth. That is like marrying someone just to get the benefits of a marriage relationship while you continue to have sexual unions with other people as a matter of life course. And I don’t know too many people who would be okay with that kind of a marriage relationship, although some might be. I am all for purity of the marriage relationship.
The way that is of the Lord, that we are to walk in as followers of Christ, is the way of moral purity, uprightness, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, devotion, holy living, righteousness, and obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. And it is the way of submission to Christ as Lord and surrender of our wills to the will of God. And it is to follow him in his ways day by day in doing whatever he wants us to do.
And in those walks of faith we find peace and joy and satisfaction in knowing that we are in the will of God, doing what he has called us to do, living lives which are pleasing to him, and that we are, thus, making a difference in this world of ours in impacting other people’s lives in a good way which may lead them to have faith in Jesus Christ and to also walk in his ways and in his truth because of our example, and because we are teachers of the truth.
So, be followers of Christ and not of the ways of this sinful world. Live holy lives pleasing to God and cease from living in sinful rebellion against our Lord and against his commands. Walk in his ways and in his truth, and love the people of this world with agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands, and you will be blessed for eternity.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Looking to Thee
By James Rowe (1865-1933)
Looking to Thee from day to day,
Trusting Thy grace along the way,
Knowing that Thou wilt safely keep all that is Thine;
Sure of Thy soul redeeming love,
Sure of a crown of life above,
Singing Thy praise I press along, Savior divine.
Looking to Thee for all I need,
Finding in Thee a Friend indeed,
All of the burdens of the day meekly I bear;
Neither the foe nor storm I fear,
Savior divine, for Thou art near,
Ready my cares and troubles all freely to share.
After a while in heaven bright,
Where there is neither sin nor night,
I shall behold Thee, face to face, Jesus my own;
Then with the saved ones gone before,
I shall with rapture, more and more,
Praise Thee forever, near the bright, beautiful throne.
Looking to Thee, Trusting thy grace,
I am as happy as a true soldier can be;
Nearing my own heavenly place,
Trusting Thy love I press along looking to Thee.
Public Domain (This hymn is free to use for display and print)
