Delight in God

Delight in God
The Psalmist tells us,
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1,2.
When one reads the Bible, one must remember that it was written to those who believe God exists. It does not debate the existence of God. It simply tells believers what God expects of them. It tells the believer to follow God’s laws.
In the book of Deuteronomy we read,
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
Put this way. The true believer will make God an intimate part of his or her life. They will worship and serve God daily in word and deed.
Francis of Assisi wrote,

Preach the Gospel at all times 

and when necessary use words.

                                    Francis of Assisi.
Francis then reminds us,

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                 Francis of Assisi.

The apostle Peter tells believers in Christ Jesus,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
The writer of Hebrews tell us,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
Thus the questions becomes for anyone who would call themselves a believer in Christ Jesus.
Is God an intimate part of your life?
Are you living at peace with those around you?
Are you living a life that is holy?
Are you living a life acceptable to God?
Are you obeying the words of Jesus who said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
Please think about it. 

Walk in Truth

Walk in truth
The Psalmist writes,

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 

or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, 

and on his law he meditates day and night.” 

                                                                                                Psalm 1:1,2.
Where do you walk? Take a look at your life. Who do you take counsel from? Do you let your views on politics guide you? Do you let a certain philosopher, pastor, or evangelist direct what you believe?
The Psalmist makes it clear we as believes in God should be delighting in “the law of the LORD”. We should be studying the word of God. Doing what God wants us to do.
Over the years I’ve seen many calling themselves Christians who have followed a specific evangelist, pastor or teacher, only to fall away from God, when the one they were following was found to be a fraud or was caught in sin.
We as Christians should be following the example of Jesus and the apostles. We should be delighting in the ways of God. Not some for lack of a better term “formula for living”.
The formula for living is in the Bible. We should as Christians be at the very least studying the New Testament directly.
At the church I attend we have a mid week bible study group that does just that. We study the Bible. We encourage people to bring different versions and we use several commentaries that help us understand some of the background of the scriptures.
What we do not do is rely on the interpretation of one person or one commentator. We believe that it is important to look at scripture from various points of view and in the context of the day it was written.
Sadly all to many people today read scriptures from the point of view of their culture and the values of their society. They pick and choose what they want to believe. You cannot do this.
Someone once said “if you pick and choose only what you want to believe in the bible then you are only listening to yourself not to God.” You are if you will living in an echo chamber.
The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, 

a workman who does not need to be ashamed 

and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 

2Timothy 2:15.

This is what all Christians should be doing.
Please think about it.