“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. I have
sought You with all my heart; don't let me wander from Your commands. I have
treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. LORD, may
You be praised; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the
judgments from Your mouth. I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees as much as in all riches. I will
meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your
statutes; I will not forget Your word.” ~Psalms 119:9-16 HCSB
In my mid-twenties I asked my
pastor how I can avoid sin. I was
struggling and I was looking for answers.
We sat in his office as I confessed what I was struggling with. He listened patiently and told me when I felt
like sinning, to open my Bible and read proverbs. He ended the conversation by encouraged me
and he prayed for me. I walked out to my
car defeated. I thought how did he
became a pastor! I sat there in my car
thinking I know that, he didn’t give anything I could use. No steps to follow just open my Bible and
read. Through the years I have tried a variety
of self-made rules and disciplines only to fail.
Here is what I have discovered
through the years Pastor Woods was a genius!
How do you keep yourself pure? You
keep yourself pure by keeping the word of God, by building your life upon it. You keep yourself pure by treasuring the word
of God in your heart, by doing so sin will not rule over you. I remembering hearing many years ago this
simple saying, “Read your bible to stay away from sin, or sin will keep you
from your bible.” Here is a simple test
for you, are you struggling with sin? If
your answer yes, when was the last time you read your bible?
As you make bible reading a
part of your life, you will start to treasure what you read. The Holy Spirit will
use it to strengthen you against sin’s enslaving chains. Set free God will put a new song in your
mouth, praise to our God. You will start
to delight in the word and you will want to tell others about what God has done
for you. God’s word is powerful and is
able to strengthen us and to free us from sin’s control. God wants you to be free from sin, God wants
you to serve Him with your whole heart.
You cannot serve Him wholly if sin rules your life. Treasure His word in heart that you will not
sin against Him.
Lord give us an intense desire
for your word. Let it penetrate the
hardest parts of our hearts and shatter any and all of sins effect. Free us dear Lord so that we can sing the
praises of our King. Amen
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