Looking at Worthless Things

Psalms 119:37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

How many things do you look at during the day that are worthless? I'm not here even thinking about things that are sinful to look at like pornography and the like; but things that have no worth.

The writer of Psalm 119 is contrasting having life in God's ways, from looking at worthless things. So presumably looking at worthless things takes away the ability to have a life which accords to the way God intended, and looking at things of worth gives a life which does accord with the way God intended. How many of us want to live a life the way God wants us to live that same life? I do, I do! But is it as simple as changing the things that I look at? Maybe.

What are the things of worth that God intends for my eyes to be gazing upon? Well, Psalm 119 alone mentions the Hebrew word for life 15 other times. Each time the word is mentioned, it is linked with some synonym for God's Word (the Bible). Whether it is a promise from the Bible, or a precept, or a law; each time the author of Psalm 119 mentions what gives us life, it is linked to something God has said in His Word.

So, I ask the question again; how many things do you look at during the day that are worthless? I am sorry to say that I look at plenty. Mostly these days, the worthless things I look at are associated with screen time. Things that I see while I am browsing through Flipboard, Reeder, or Safari on my iPhone or iPad. They are not things that are sinful to look at, but they sure don't have much worth. They are mundane things, like the third news article of the same event, but from yet another perspective; a rumor as to what the new iPhone will look like, or Monday morning humor from Kevin DeYoung's blog. Maybe you do not have any issues of looking at these worthless things, but how about the TV, Home and Garden magazine, Readers Digest, or E! Hollywood gossip?

I am not going to keep listing the things that we look at that are worthless, you know what your eyes linger over way better than I. You know those things that occupy your mind and that they are not giving you life according to God's ways. Will you give them up? Will I give them up? What is on the line if we don't? Whatever you determine the answer to this question is, we must begin where the author of the Psalm did; by praying through Jesus that God will turn my eyes.

An Obvious Break From Blogging

It is nearly irrelevant that I would write a post on the topic of taking a break from blogging; as I know that it is blatantly obvious that I have taken a break from blogging because I am indeed not blogging. Nonetheless, I thought I would share a couple of the reasons why.

I have not only taken a break from writing blogs, but largely from reading them as well. I find that for myself, I grow more by reading books rather than blogs. Blogs are nice as they are short snippets of truth that are easy to read. But I see that they lack the depth to produce any change in my life. The blogs that do have an impact on me are written by individuals that I know are avid readers. Out of the overflow of what they are reading, they blog. This has not been the case for my blog writing. I have not written out of the overflow of my reading of books and I think it is evident in the content that I write.

Another reason I am taking a break is that I have four children and my wife to shepherd. I have been using the time I would normally blog to write devotions and things for my family instead of the world of bloggers. I think this is a better use of my time, and I think it honors God more.

I am not deleting my blog, but rather I will post from time to time on various topics as The Lord provides opportunities.

In Christ,

Scott

Growth In Spiritual Mindedness

“Growth in spiritual mindedness is difficult, but the difficulty often arises from the fact that we want to keep in our lives things that are inconsistent with spirituality. In other words, the difficulty is in ourselves and not in spirituality. We do not wish to put aside every hinderance (Hebrews 12:1).” John Owen

Experience Quenches Doubt

In John Chapter 9 there is a man that has been blind since birth. Jesus heals him and the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus did this. Furthermore, it was the Sabbath.

The Pharisees bring this man before a council to question him. The healed blind man says in verse 25, “Whether he is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see.”

This man answered doubt with his experience and it was powerful. It should be the same for us. When Satan tempts us to doubt God, we are to answer back with a recollection of what God has done for us in the past; particularly our salvation. Jesus used the Word to quench the flame of Satan, and this blind man used his experience. Both responses to Satan’s doubts are appropriate for us to use.

The Word Of God (1)

THE WORD OF GOD

There are several different meanings in the Bible of the phrase The Word of God.

• THE WORD OF GOD AS A PERSON
• THE WORD OF GOD AS SPEECH

THE WORD OF GOD AS A PERSON

Revelation 19:13 says “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Verse 14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

We mostly think of The Word of God, as talking about the words in the Bible. Yet Jesus Christ is so associated with teaching and displaying the character and instruction of God, that he is referred to as The Word of God. Knowing this can help us to remember that the words of the Bible come from a Person. They are not abstract words that are disconnected from the person who speaks those same words. Jesus Christ is the glory of all of the Words of God! The Word of God is Personal.

Jesus the Word of God says in Matthew 11:28-29 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

We must remember that we are learners of the Word of God in so far as we are servants under Jesus’ Lordship first. For we must take his yoke upon ourselves first before we learn from Him.

Conference Message

We just finished a Bible Conference at our Church. It was called "We Would See Jesus." The conference used 7 different speakers to cover three offices of Christ; Prophet, Priest, and King. My message was the last and here is a link to it.

Happy Easter!
Scott

The Shame Over Stumbling On A Rock

Steadfastness in obedience to God's commands takes away shame. Psalm 119:5-6 says "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commands."


A problem comes very soon to us as we seek to rid ourselves of shame; we are unable to be steadfast in our obedience to the Bible. I believe that David was the one who wrote Psalm 119, and even he cried out, "Oh that my ways may be steadfast." I for one know that I am less steadfast as King David. Since this is the case, is there any hope for people like me?


I am like the Israel of old. I pursue a righteousness, an obedience that takes away shame. Yet my obedience will never take that shame away. But when I pursue a righteousness that is by faith then my shame gets nailed to the cross.


"See I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 9:33.


Our shame gets taken away as we pursue a steadfast obedience to God's commands in love for the One who was perfect in His obedience; to Jesus Christ our Righteousness!


When a person trips and stumbles over something on the ground, there is typically a shame because of our pride knowing others are watching. The cross of Jesus will either make you stumble and be filled with your own shame because of your pride, or it will take away your shame because all of your pride was put to death along with the Son of God 2000 years ago.


"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." 1 John 2:28