Psalm 103 is one of my favourites. The words just wash over you....
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love...
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;...
but from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (v8, 11-13, 17-18)
Psalm 101 is full of hardhitting, toestepping truth about how to live a life of integrity.
I will set before my eyes no vile thing. v3
How often do we convince ourselves that what we watch on tv, or listen to on the radio, or read in books/magazines does not affect us. Yes, we (as adults, especially) have the ability to think critically and to be purposeful about recognizing the wrong that was portrayed as right. But we make a huge error in judgment when we think that the things we saturate our brains with do not affect our minds and our hearts.
Do we determine to set before our eyes no vile thing?
We are also to avoid evil associates, slander and pride and count on God's word to show us the standards by which we are to conduct our lives.
On our own strength? No, by the strength and grace of God alone.
Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 109-110, 138, John 16
MacArthur has some amazing sermons on John 15 - in fact, he thinks it's possibly the single most important book in the Bible. Definitely have to carve out some time to look into those sermons. Start here.
4 comments:
I think Psalm 101 is, for me, probably the single most challenging passage in the Bible. "I will set before my eyes no vile thing; the deeds of faithless men I hate; men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil; no one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence..."
I would bet very few of the TV shows and movies we enjoy wouldn't fit at least ONE of these categories. We've become so accustomed to shutting off our brains and being entertained, that we thoughtlessly allow things that simply amuse us, regardless of how NOT beneficial to our minds and spiritual lives they are.
And David gives us the solution: "My eyes will be on the faithful... he whose walk is blameless will minister to me."
This might be pushin' it a little, but I really feel like we should be putting put out the extra effort to have people over for entertainment instead of wasting time in front of the TV each evening. I'm the first one to admit the idea doesn't thrill me because let's face it, it means extra work at the end of the day, but that's what this Psalm says to me. Spend time talking and laughing with friends ~ particularly Christian friends ~ and strive to encourage and nourish each other that way, ministering to each other and helping each other grow spiritually.
It goes against every desire in my being to spend my relaxing ME time that way, but I really want to make the effort to do it more often.
I love Psalm 103 as well. It really reminds me that I spend too little time praising. There is a LOT of praise in that Psalm! I wish I wasn't so terrible at remembering references. There are often times I want to look up something and have NO IDEA where it is in the Bible! Thank goodness for Bible Gateway, or I'd never find anything.
John 15 is an absolutely incredible chapter. It is basically the core, the essence, the distillation of what it means to be a Christian. I'm writing that one down, just so that I WILL be able to find it again in future.
Every time I read passages such as "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" I always sing the song that I hear on the radio or in church...
great post...
Great post. I love the verses you highlighted from Psalm 103. What a challenge to "set your eyes on no vile thing". Conrad and I have the discussion about music quite often. Not that he listens to questionable material often but he does enjoy old favourites with lyrics that may not be appropriate for our kids. I am not a huge music fan but I only listen to our Christian radio station. We are so blessed to have it and I want to support it and I know that the messages it sends to my kids are what I want for them.
Too funny Pam! I do that too!
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