That I May Keep Your Word

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be those who love the law of the Lord, i.e. his New Covenant commandments, written in the hearts and minds of those who love God and who are called according to his purpose. Studying the Scriptures should be a delight to us, not a drudgery, and something that we look forward to each day. We should be those who live by the Word of God, no longer according to human flesh, but to please God, not the flesh.

For if we are true followers of Christ, we have died with Christ to sin, and we have been raised with Christ 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. Sin has been put to death so that we no longer walk in sin, by habit, but so we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. We are now clay in the hands of the Potter being molded into the image of Christ which is a lifetime process of salvation.

The Word of the Lord to us who believe in Jesus Christ should be sweet to us, even though some of his word is hard, it is difficult, and it may seem harsh. For even the parts that may seem harsh are written to us out of love and for what is for our best. And so we need to take it to heart and to apply it to our daily walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, and not ignore the parts that our flesh might want to resist. For we should want to obey God.

We should hate every false way. We should resist the lies of Satan which he likes to whisper in our ears, and we must hold on to the truth of God’s Word, taught to us in the appropriate context, and not out of context. For so many people today are teaching lies in the name of Jesus, and they are falsifying the truth of the gospel, and they are altering the words of God to make them more acceptable to human flesh. And so they are convincing many that a profession of faith in Jesus is all that God requires of them for salvation.

But the truth is that Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him, so that by faith in him we will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness, in walks of obedience to his commands. And the truth is that if we continue living in sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, that regardless of what our lips profess, we will not inherit eternal life with God, and we will not be saved from our sins.

So, we must get our truth directly from the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. And it is best if you have a reliable and trustworthy Bible translation, for there are several altered and diluted translations and transliterations of the Scriptures which are not true to the originals and which are very deceptive, and which are teaching lies, at least in part. And always study the Scriptures under the direction of the Holy Spirit who will speak truth to our hearts, and test everything you hear from humans.

Let the Word of God be a lamp to your feet (your walk of faith) and a light to your path (the truth of the gospel). For Jesus taught that to come after him requires that we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands, we have eternal life with God in heaven.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You


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That I May Keep Your Word
An Original Work / July 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love