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Topic: Take Your Stand
[DCLM Daily Manna 1 September 2020 Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Psalm 119:1-8 (KJV)
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
Key Verse: “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2).
MESSAGE:
Martin Luther, the great German reformer, published a number of works which explained his position. He was summoned to appear before the German Congress at Worms in 1521 to answer charges of heresy. He was quoted to have dramatically concluded with “Here I stand! I cannot do otherwise! God help me!”
In our passage, the psalmist eulogised the blessedness of keeping God’s word and seeking Him with the whole heart. As God has commanded His people to keep His word, the desire of the psalmist was therefore to keep it. He that keeps God’s word will not be put to shame.
Christianity starts from that moment of self-searching, questioning and of conscious decision to follow the Lord. Then there is genuine repentance and accepting Christ as Saviour. The psalmist made that choice. He said, “I have chosen the way of truth”. Jesus Christ is the Truth.
The decision to follow Christ consistently is a personal one. For the journey to be on, it must come from the heart. It cannot be forced on someone, otherwise, it becomes tedious. Although there are mines laid by the enemies of the gospel to cause obstructions and challenges, believers must constantly go to God for strength.
The psalmist knew it is a blessed thing to seek God with the whole heart. He knew the foolishness of sacrificing one’s eternal joy for transient pleasures of the world. His desire then was to be directed by God to keep His ways. And that is what every wise person must do.
Thought For The Day: Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.
The Bible In One Year: Psalm 72-77
