Jump Start # 1592

Psalms 19:8 “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Psalms 19 is a powerful chapter that reveals God. The chapter begins with the heavens declaring the glory of God. Nature itself is a witness to God. As science takes us deeper and deeper into the cell structure more and more are realizing that these systems are too complex and connected to allow time and chance to develop them. The natural world points to order and beauty which leads us to God. Nature on it’s own does not tell us who God is. We do not know God’s name, His will or His expectations by nature alone.

The second part of this chapter describes the revealed word of God. It is here that our verse is found. Six times we are reminded that these words are “of the Lord.” They are not of man. They are Heaven sent. They are divine. This section gives us multiple terms describing God’s word. We find: law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and judgment. We also find the value of God’s law. It is: perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true. We also see the benefits of God’s law: restores the soul; making wise the simple; rejoicing the heart; enlightening the eyes; enduring forever.

Added to these words we find, “in keeping them there is great reward.”

A few thoughts from all of this today:

1. We are blessed that God sent us His word. Since we were the ones who walked away from God when we sinned, He could have easily said, “Find Me.” We wouldn’t know where to begin. We wouldn’t know what to do. God could have given His word to a select few, only the best. It was His wishes that the apostles would go and preach to every creature (Mk 16:15). That means every continent. That means every nation. That means every city. That means every street. That means every house. That means every person in that house. God’s word is for all of us. It is for the king as well as the peasant. It is for the master as well as  the slave.

2. We ought to be content with God’s word. Peter said that everything pertaining to life and godliness has been given. We have it. We have it all. There is nothing more that we need. That thought alone kills the need for creeds, councils and any other religious documents written to govern us. We have God’s word. But some don’t seem to buy into this. They don’t see this. They are not content. For some, they think God is still talking and revealing things. If He is, then Peter was wrong. Peter said his people had everything. Some put more stock into “divine nudges and feelings,” than what is written on the pages of their Bible. Some are led by feelings and not faith based upon the word of God.

Some are not content with what the Bible says. They are always wanting to push the limits. They want to dwell in controversy. They want to introduce and test things that are not found in the word of God. They spend too much time thinking about what’s not there rather than what is there. For some, thinking outside of the box has become a life’s goal. They are consumed with out of the box thinking. The problem with all of this is that one must first understand what is IN the box. What some call traditions, are not. What some what to introduce, they should not. Some have confused what is a method with what is Heaven’s law. This fuzzy, confusing thinking only stirs up the rebels in a congregation and beckons the call for change. They are always wanting change. Never content with the way God has revealed things, they want a church that looks more like the churches all around them. Like ancient Israel, wanting a king like the kings around them, some, not content today, are wanting a church that looks like other churches. More social. More entertainment. More dealing with the wholeness of a person. Less teaching. Build houses. Plant gardens. Sweep streets. Safe houses for abused. Safe places for children to play. And as some push for these things they fail to see that none of those things will help with man’s greatest need and that is God. The church is a community of saved people who are trying to prepare others for Heaven. The mission is spiritual. The tools are the word of God. It involves teaching and preaching. Content with God’s word. Content with the ways God has defined it. That’s missing in some places today. That’s missing in some hearts today.

3. The reward that this passage talks about is found in keeping God’s word. This comes from knowing that word. It comes from believing that word. It comes from obeying that word. There is no reward for disobeying God’s word. There is no honor in changing God’s word. There is no hope in walking away from God’s word. The word in our hearts will do something to us. It changes us. It molds us. It takes the meanness out of a person. It drives the selfishness out of a person. It turns a person into a kind and generous soul. It makes a person forgive and apologize. It makes a person compassionate. Getting the word deep into our hearts and souls will have an affect upon us. There are those who claim to be Christians but they have never gotten the word of God deep within them. They are surface readers only. The impact is obvious. They haven’t changed. They are still bossy. They continue to demand their way. They are the last to forgive and the first to point fingers. Sure they go to church on Sunday, but it hasn’t done much for them.

The reward is found in those who drink deeply from God’s word.

There is a culture that is feeding too much on the radical books and blogs of others rather than spending time with the word of God. These free spirits want to be cutting edge. They want to be different. They don’t want to march in line with others. They pride themselves in their intellectualism. Yet, they are not getting these thoughts from the word of God. They have been influenced and poisoned by others and they do not even know that. Their radical thoughts stirs up trouble in congregations. They are not deepening the faith of others. They are chipping away at what some believe. They paint with a broad bush the idea that nearly everything is traditions and they want to toss them all overboard. These “out of the box” folks are moving people out of fellowship with God. They are leading misguided hearts to not follow what is written and more  than that, they are spreading discontent concerning the ways of God.

There is great reward in keeping God’s word. A person doesn’t need a university degree to understand God’s will. He does not need a stack of books written by man to understand the words that God has given. He does not need a special insight into the culture that only a handful believe that they know to get what God is saying. The word was first preached to fisherman and housewives and common laborers. They could understand and grow a faith in the Lord. Throughout the middle ages in Europe, there were handfuls of disciples that learned and taught the word of God to others. They did not have these books and insights that others claim today that we must have to know God’s word. A person ought to be able to read and understand the Bible as it is written.

Content with God. Content with God’s word. We need to get back to that.

Roger