By Faith 5

Psalm 119:9-12

Whenever I am supposed to travel someplace that I am not familiar with I turn to the Internet and look up directions on how to get there. Many times, as I read through the directions, I doubt them. I question their accuracy.

Yet time after time I have found that if I simply follow these instructions, even if they don’t seem right, I get where I am going. Amazing!

In Psalm 119 we have directions on how to get where we are going. How does a young man (or anyone) keep his ways pure? What does the psalmist desire? What does the psalmist do with God’s instructions? What is the final comment and request?

The question which guides me, the question almost always on my lips, is “Why?” Why am I in ministry? Why do we attend church? Why do we do what we do?

Why?

The answer, I believe, should be that we do all that we do to glorify God. We do all that we do to serve God. We do what we do to grow toward perfection.

John Wesley believed in three graces. The first is all about the love God has waiting for us. The second is God’s forgiveness. The third is God’s guidance for us, a perfecting grace, grace that helps us move from who we are to who we should be.

How do we get from here to there? How do we grow in perfection?

By living according to God’s word. We grow in perfection by hearing the teachings of God from the Bible. We grow in perfection by taking these lessons and making them who we are – what we do, how we act, how we feel. We hide God’s words in our hearts.

When we can learn the lessons of God, the lessons of Jesus Christ, and use them to guide our every thought and action, then we move toward perfection. We begin living out holy lives, sharing God’s love with a hurting world. We change ourselves and we change the world by bringing love and peace, comfort and hope.

This seems to be the perfect summation of faith. We should earnestly seek God’s decrees, His instructions. We should internalize them, hide them in our hearts. And when we do this, we live a life of holiness.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you hide God’s decrees in your heart?

NOTE: This is the final 10/2 Grow devotion this spring. We will resume on August 25. We truly pray that these devotions have been a blessing and benefit to each of you, and we pray that God will be with you to guide and protect you now and always. May He be praised. – Roger and Peggy