Today’s Passage: “Depart from me, you evildoers, for I will keep the commandments of my God! Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, and I shall observe Your statutes continually” Psalm 119:115-117.
We stand on the brink of a new year full of hope and promise. God has granted us the blessing to see 2010 enter and He has allowed us the opportunity to renew our relationship with Him. Yet not one more second is promised to us. Paul wrote that we must “walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time” Colossians 4:5. We may not have one more moment to tell others how much we love them and to teach them what they must do in order to be saved. How tragic if we waste a great opportunity to take our loved ones to heaven with us someday!
May this year be a year of new hope, new courage and greater devotion to God. May we seek opportunities to defend our Savior without fear of humiliation or rejection wherever we are, whether on the job, visiting family or talking to strangers in the checkout lines. Our hope is God. What if He were ashamed of us? What if Christ was so disappointed in our failures that He would not accept the punishment on behalf of our sins? No! Christ bore the humiliation that we deserved. How can we be embarrassed to bow our heads and pray at lunch, speak of what Christ has done for us or teach others of God’s great and eternal love for us?
Let us seek to have boldness in love and the desire to save others’ souls this year. Let us look for opportunities to spread the gospel, whether online, in person, through correspondence, at worship services, on the job or wherever we find ourselves. The disciples were dispersed in the first century due to severe persecution. The result was that the gospel was spread even further. Why? Because as they spread out, they carried the gospel with them wherever they traveled. They were not afraid to tell others about Christ even though they might be killed because their pride and hope was in Christ Himself and not their own souls.
My local preacher delivered a powerful lesson during class this week regarding David’s refusal to be ashamed to talk about the Lord. “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” Psalm 119:45-47. Oh to have such a love for God’s Word and commandments that we cannot stop speaking of them and long for the times when we can meditate on them!
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ “for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” Romans 1:16. I have been reading in Acts the courageous acts of the apostles such as Peter and John when they were threatened by the officials of the city and boldly responded: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” Acts 4:19. God freed them from prison and they returned to talk to the people. This time, they replied when they were threatened, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him” Acts 5:29-32. I smile thinking of their courage and refusal to give up. They were led directly by the Spirit, but we have the Spirit of God through God’s Word. We can have such boldness and zeal for the Lord!
If we are embarrassed to share Christ with our coworkers and neighbors because they may think we are different or perceive us as being arrogant, then we have no idea what He did for us. We do not appreciate His precious gift and do not want others to share in the joy. If we truly are Christians, we will not only walk after Him but also share His story. If we love others, we will be sad that they are not saved and will desperately desire for them to be exposed to the gospel. The more we share the gospel, the more confident we will grow and the more lost souls we can reach.
The more we meditate on His Word, the more we will love it. When we really love something like sports or a hobby, we talk about it. It’s what we know, what we have facts about and what we spend our time preparing to discuss. This should be the Word of God. Shouldn’t we be able to quote the Bible as we once did as children? I can remember learning memory verses every week but for some reason, I have fallen out of the habit and sometimes forget where a passage is located.
For that reason, I would like to offer a “verse of the day” regarding the lesson but also a “memory verse of the week” for us to renew our memories and be able to share words of hope and encouragement to others. The first one is an easy one and many of you probably already know it; however, it is a good verse with which to begin because it reminds us that we can do anything with Christ’s help – even learn memory verses this year! Remember that you have a week to learn it, so if you do not already know it, write it down and post it on your computer, mirror or refrigerator to remind you that CHRIST is our strength. We are not alone in this world without hope because He lives within us.
God bless you all as we study together. Let’s make 2010 the year of the LORD!!!
Memory Verse for the Week: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13.
On a personal note, my last two years have been full of medical treatments for cancer but praise the Lord God Almighty that through it all, He increased my faith and hope and brought me to such great joy. He has far surpassed anything I could ever imagine and though I was not sheltered from pain or setbacks, each of these “dips in the road” led me to greater joy. I have seen the love of Christians all over the world reach out to me to encourage me. I have learned what true love is because of the selfless acts of strangers such as my stem cell transplant donor and his family. God has opened my eyes and the more I have depended on Him for my every need, the more He has grown me and has filled me with overwhelming peace and comfort.
I pray that all of you feel this wonderful peace and joy from the Lord if you do not already. May we all grow in truth and love as we seek God’s Will through His Word and consider His goodness. God bless you richly and deeply through this glorious new year!
