Blessed

Psalm 1 begins..."How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night."

What exactly is the counsel of the ungodly? Any counsel that is void of truth. Any counsel that is developed independently of God. Worldly wisdom.

And friends, there's a lot of it out there.

From modern psychology to parenting to health to finances, worldly wisdom flows into our homes from many sources - television, radio, magazines, books, neighbors, family and friends.

But notice that the Psalmist says that the man who does NOT walk in the counsel of the ungodly is blessed. That is because his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he continually meditates.

I love how the word "delight" is used here. It's not his obligation or his requirement, but his delight. The blessed man finds joy in meditating on the Word. It's not a chore and it's not on his check list. It's something that he longs for, that he can't find enough time to do, that brings him deep satisfaction. He loves it so much, that he immerses himself in it day and night.

This is the blessed man.

So, (you know there's always a question), where do you walk? In the laws of the Lord or in the counsel of the ungodly?

Ugh. This is a hard question, because walking in the laws of the Lord takes effort, where receiving the counsel of the ungodly only needs a remote control.

Well, this is where my mind has been dwelling for the past day. I love this psalm - if you have time today, take a look at the whole passage. It is a beautiful, simple truth about the difference between a life immersed with God and one empty of His presence.

If you want another exercise, take a look at Psalm 119 - yeah, I know it's long, but the whole passage is devoted to the blessings of having the Word in your life...well worth the time to read it.

Flashlight vs. Light Switch

"Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light..." Ephesians 5:7,8

These verses were in our "bearing fruit" reading this morning. (For those of you who do not come to study, we are meditating on John 15 this fall in correspondence to our Luke study. We are spending some time this week in complimentary passages on fruit bearing.)

And they got me to thinking...

Okay, stop reading and go grab a flashlight.

Got it? Now, go somewhere where there are no windows (bathrooom, basement, closet), turn the lights off and close the door. It going to be pretty dark, but that's the point. Just stand in the darkness for about a minute until your eyes adjust.

This is you before Christ. You were darkness.

Now, turn on your flashlight. What can you see? Don't move it around but simply point it in one direction and make a mental list of everything you see. Is there still darkness in the room?

Okay, turn the flashlight off and stand another minute.

Now, turn the light switch on. Now what can you see? Everything, right?

Here's my point. There are a lot of lessons we can learn about light and dark from the Bible. There are verses that say "walk in the Light" and "we were in darkness." But these Ephesians verses say that we "were darkness" and now we "are light." There is a subtle difference, but an important one.

What kind of light are you? Are you a narrow beam that illuminates a small area, or do you fill a whole room when you enter it?

I want to be a light switch. I want people to be able to see when I walk in a room because I am a light source - someone who reveals truth because of my relationship with Jesus. But when I "hide it under a bushel", I limit my effect on the world.

That's got to stop. Jesus was definitely a light switch, as a matter of fact, He not only filled a room, but He's the Light of the world. Time to trade in the flashlight for better wiring, I guess.

Any ideas on how to be a brighter light?

Have a great day!

Jeans vs. Purse

Are you a jeans Christian or a purse Christian?

If you are a jeans Christian, then you read John 15:4 like this: "Abide in Me and I in you."

But if you are a purse Christian, you read it like this: "Abide in Me and I on you."

Here's the difference: If you are a jeans Christian, you understand that your life it hidden in Christ and that no matter where you go, what you do or say, Jesus is with you. He is an irremovable part of your life (yes, the word is "irremovable" and if I made it up, I think you get the picture).

If you are a purse Christian, you put Jesus on and off in your life. Oh, He is with you always, but you don't live a life that wants Him around all the time. Like at sporting events - a lot of us leave Him home for those. Or during ugly conversations with our spouse or when gossiping about a neighbor - then His presence is no where to be found. And sometimes we forget to put him on. We get busy and suddenly realize that we haven't spent time in His Word or talked to Him for days.

Why jeans or purse? you ask. Well, let's picture it this way. See the woman in the picture above? Let's say she is heading to a restaurant to have lunch with a friend. That morning, she put on her lovely black skinny jeans, her casual tee shirt and topped it off with a stylish blazer. As she ran out the door, she grabbed her purse. She made a few stops on her way to lunch, filling her car with gas, picking up the dry cleaning, and stopping by the post office for a roll of stamps. But by the time she gets to lunch, what are the odds she's lost her skinny jeans?

How ridiculous, you say. Her jeans are exactly where they should be! She is in them, therefore they go wherever she goes.

But the purse...now that's something she could lose. She could set it down anywhere - at the cleaners, at the post office, on top of her car - she could even leave it in the car during lunch.

If you are a jeans Christian, not only are you abiding in Christ, but He is in you as well. There is no separating the two of you. But if you are a purse Christian, then you may think that you abide in Him, but in actuality He just sits on your shoulder, and the risk of forgetting Him somewhere is great. You can set Him down and walk away without blinking an eye. You may purposefully put Him on Sunday mornings and then leave Him in the closet the rest of the week. Or you may just forget Him.

Abide in Me and I in you - permanent, consistent, purposeful, relational, irremovable.

(It's my word and I'm sticking with it.)

What Does it Mean?

"If you're going to live in my house, you're going to abide by my rules."

Oh, come on. Admit it. If you've raised teenagers, you've said this very phrase. In this volatile time of life (the teen years), boundaries are still necessary as understood by the adults, though not necessarily by the teenager. So the parental "putting down of the foot" relates to living by within their guidelines in regards to school work, house rules and respect.

Abiding in the Christian walk is a lot different. If abiding meant living by God's rules alone, then it would be more like behaviorism and legalism than true family dwelling. Let me explain.

This morning after I did my normal routine at the bathroom mirror, I set down my tooth brush and looked at the floss. Now, flossing wouldn't have even crossed my mind except for the fact that I recently went to the dentist and despite the fact that my teeth were fine (no cavities!), I still was gently reprimanded for not flossing. So here's how this typically works in my life:

I feel bad that I don't floss.

I go home.

I forget about flossing, except for the distant gnawing on my conscience which wears off after about three weeks.

I remember about a month before the next dentist cleaning that if I don't start flossing I will have the same awkward reprimand in my future.

I put off flossing for another two weeks.

I look for floss but don't find any.

I go to my appointment and get gently reprimanded again by the same hygienist and dentist.

Then the cycle starts again.

So, this morning as I looked at the floss, a greater question was formed in my mind. Am I flossing out of fear of the dentist, or could there be a greater reason than pleasing him that I should do this?

Good question.

Same with the Christian walk. Abiding with Christ is dwelling with Him - living with Him, learning from Him, conforming your life into His image. Sharing meals, watching television together, long discussions by the fireplace, awkward confrontations when you are out of line, laughing with Him, crying on His shoulder, growing in Him. Abide - the fullest definition of dwelling.

If you look at God and think that abiding in Him is simply living by His rules so as not to tick Him off, then you may have a very teenaged view of God. And if you think that abiding in Him is mindlessly doing something He's asked you to do and you do it out of fear, then you possibly have a very limited understanding of the purposes behind God's will and instruction.

Abiding means relationship. Everything the Lord asks of us flows from His very character. There is reason and purpose behind each and every instruction. There is a depth in abiding that co-existing or office visits simply can't attain.

So, my question for you today is this: Are you trying to get through life without breaking the house rules, following the house rules out of fear of a reprimand or are you walking daily with the Father, gleaning from His teaching and His gentle Hand in your life, abiding in His mercy and grace, conforming into the image of His Son?

John 15 - our meditation passage for ladies study - if you have a chance, read it today...