Welcome to South Texas, where everything scratches, stings, or bites.”
–Elmer Kelton (Jericho’s Road)
“I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word.”
“I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word.”
–Psalm 119:25 (NLT)
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I want you to take time to really contemplate and meditate upon the following verses. Remember, we worship in spirit and in truth. Truth is reality–reality is your life. Therefore, we are to worship with our lives–a living sacrifice.
.7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
.8 But if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.
.9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment.
.10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.
–Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 (NKJV)
Life itself, is like a vapor; it passes quickly. As the old German saying goes, “We get old too soon and smart too late.” Get on with life, but do it with common sense. If life is worship, then let the foolishness go. Remember the Lord in the days of your youth.
When it is written, “walk in the ways of your heart,” it does not mean to do your own thing. It is not an invitation to sin, or to do whatever you think is right. We need to heed the words of the Psalmist, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV)
Live life so that when you stand before the Lord you will not have to try to make excuses for your life. The heart is deceitful, therefore it must have the Word of God etched into it. Oh, but I want to have fun–you say. But what is fun? And I would question, is life supposed to be fun? Happiness is for now, but it is inseparably linked to the living Lord and how we live for Him. We are given permission to enjoy life; it is to be there all the years of our life, however… Perhaps the words of Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. express it better, “Be free from those injuries to the inner man that so quickly cripple the joy of life.”
In this woke culture that is upon us do not listen to the many voices that cry out from it. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, therefore with your life do not mock Him. Instead, live a life for Him. Don’t be disillusioned at what you see around you, at what you hear, but at the same time beware of things. Things that might drag you down. Never forget that there is a day of accountability–in this life and the one to come.
At the same time don’t let life work you over; put aside vexation, “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NKJV) You know the weight. You know what vexes you. In life there are all sorts of weights that we tend to pick up, some lighter than others, but one day, if we don’t cast them aside, they will wear on our inner person, and if we do not repent of them they will follow you on to the day of judgment. Life is living! However, “life must be lived with eternity’s values in view.” (Kaiser)
———————————————-
I want you to take time to really contemplate and meditate upon the following verses. Remember, we worship in spirit and in truth. Truth is reality–reality is your life. Therefore, we are to worship with our lives–a living sacrifice.
.7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
.8 But if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.
.9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment.
.10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.
–Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 (NKJV)
Life itself, is like a vapor; it passes quickly. As the old German saying goes, “We get old too soon and smart too late.” Get on with life, but do it with common sense. If life is worship, then let the foolishness go. Remember the Lord in the days of your youth.
When it is written, “walk in the ways of your heart,” it does not mean to do your own thing. It is not an invitation to sin, or to do whatever you think is right. We need to heed the words of the Psalmist, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV)
Live life so that when you stand before the Lord you will not have to try to make excuses for your life. The heart is deceitful, therefore it must have the Word of God etched into it. Oh, but I want to have fun–you say. But what is fun? And I would question, is life supposed to be fun? Happiness is for now, but it is inseparably linked to the living Lord and how we live for Him. We are given permission to enjoy life; it is to be there all the years of our life, however… Perhaps the words of Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. express it better, “Be free from those injuries to the inner man that so quickly cripple the joy of life.”
In this woke culture that is upon us do not listen to the many voices that cry out from it. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, therefore with your life do not mock Him. Instead, live a life for Him. Don’t be disillusioned at what you see around you, at what you hear, but at the same time beware of things. Things that might drag you down. Never forget that there is a day of accountability–in this life and the one to come.
At the same time don’t let life work you over; put aside vexation, “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NKJV) You know the weight. You know what vexes you. In life there are all sorts of weights that we tend to pick up, some lighter than others, but one day, if we don’t cast them aside, they will wear on our inner person, and if we do not repent of them they will follow you on to the day of judgment. Life is living! However, “life must be lived with eternity’s values in view.” (Kaiser)