"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT BEING CLEANSED OF SIN AND KEPT FROM SIN BY GOD"
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!
Some explanatory thoughts/application/questions, and a prayer:
These verses are of course taken from the Book of Psalms, and written it's believed by King David.
You will notice that in each verse there is a direct reference to the Word of God. In fact, here is something very interesting, This 119th Ps, is the longest chapter in the the Book of Psalms, there are 179 verses in this book, and it is divided up into paragraphs containing 8 verses each. But, here's even what is more interesting. In each line of every 179 verses, there is a reference to the Word of God. Sometimes, it says, Law, Statutes, Word, Ways, etc, but, they without any doubt are all referencing the Word. So, let's dig in and see just what is said about the Word in the three verses in today's devotional.
1. How can we cleanse ourselves with respect to sin?
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
David asks the question, and than gives the answer. If we are sinning, if we need to be made pure, how can we do it? That's the problem, and that's the question, and Here's the answer. "By taking heed according to Your Word" Or to put it another way, "By obeying Your Word and following it's rules"
Sounds simple and it is. God has provided for our sin, and it's through faith and obedience to His Word. Jesus is the living Word of God. The Bible is the written Word of God. And, if we find ourselves in need of cleansing, than we must look to, listen to and obey the Word of God, and we will find ourselves being cleansed, i.e forgiven, made pure. Isn't that wonderful?
God knows that we need His help with our sin, So, He has provided us with the way to be cleansed, and the faith to believe, and He calls us to put our faith in Him, and obey Him, and the result is a cleansed life, a pure life etc.
And, if we will day by day, take heed to His Word, (while we will never be sinless) we will certainly be kept from sinning so much, and we will live much holier lives. Or lives that are much more free from sin. You can see then why it so wonderful and important to be in God's Holy Word day by day.
2. God can and will help us to stay close to Him.
Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Here David both expresses what he had done with his heart and the Lord, and he also expresses a desire towards God.
David had tried his very best to find the Lord and to stick close to Him. He had sought the Lord with His whole heart. He was very serious in his walk with the Lord. It's great to know that we can do the same thing. Be like David was, a man after God's own heart.
Also, David was making a prayer request to God. A very good one. "Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!" He was asking God to not let Him wander away from God's Commandments. Or you could say from God Himself. He wanted to stay close to God. I cannot think of a better desire to have, can you?
3. We can relate to the Word in such a way that it will keep us from sin.
Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!
Now David lets us in on a very simple, true and powerful way for a believer to be kept from sinning against God.
David calls it "hiding God's Word in his heart" What does this mean? Hidden means, to lay up, to esteem, treasure up, store up, to hide.
Besides the obvious respect and joy that David had with the Word of God, it could very well also mean, that David knew in the sense of having memorized and meditated on God's Word.
Memorizing the Word of God will increase the power of God in your life. Try it, and see if you do not find it to be so.
4. Here are three "Basic Steps" you can take to relate to God's Word in a way that will change your life.
(1) Know the Word of God.
If you know the Word of God then, You can depend on it, but if you don't know it, then it can't really help you. So, get to Know the Word of God. Memorizing Verses is a great place to start. Along with regular personal daily Bible reading, and church attendance where the Bible is taught, and being part of a small group that studies the Word of God. Jesus and His followers as recorded for us in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, were men who knew the Word from memory and were able to call upon it when needed. You can be this way also.
(2) Believe the Word of God.
The Bible is chock full of Gods promises. But, you can only act upon promises that you believe. So, you must believe in or have faith in God's Word. If you want to have God's power in your life, than you must believe God's Word. Try it. You will be pleasantly surprised.
(3) Submit to the Word of God.
God has a will for each of us. His will for us are not suggestions, but rather commands to be obeyed, and we obey by submitting to His Word. If you want God's power in you life, then You must submit to His Word.
Again, by submitting to God's Word you will discover His power in a fresh way in your life.
Some questions:
1. Have you found these verses to be encouraging and enlightening?
2. Have you in the past found these truths to be true in your life?
3. Are these things happening now at this time in your life?
4. Is the Lord calling you back to that former intimacy you may have had with Him and His Word.
5. If so, will you take just a moment and very sincerely express your thoughts to Him at this very moment, and ask Him to cleanse you, to keep you close to Him, and begin a day by day new life of seeking Him in His Word?
A prayer:
Father, thank You for the Psalms. They are always so wonderful and speak to us, and to so many parts of our lives. Help us Lord to grasp the truth of them, and to find the comfort we need, and to see the instruction and guidance You give, and to commit ourselves to being true sincere, followers of Yours. In Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
