January 31
“Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace,” Psalm 37:37.
Repeatedly, the psalmist speaks of the lifestyle of the godly and the ungodly person. In the verse quoted above, the psalmist is describing the child of God who walks in the way of God’s Commandments. Take note of such a person and follow his example.
To impress upon us the importance of living our Christian faith, the psalmist portrays the contrast between the godly and the ungodly person: “Evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth,” Psalm 37:4; “The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace,” Psalm 37:11; “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked,” Psalm 37:16; “The Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever . . . but the wicked shall perish,” Psalm 37:18, 20; “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives,” Psalm 37:21; “The Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off,” Psalm 37:28; “The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged,” Psalm 37:30-33.
Sometimes we hear people ask, “Does it pay to be a Christian?” When that question is asked, then turn to the Word of God, which assures you that God blesses those who walk in the way of His Commandments and punishes those who willingly, deliberately, and stubbornly walk in their own ungodly way.
Oh yes, Christians sin, too, out of weakness and sometimes even deliberately. However, they repent and flee to God for the mercy and forgiveness gained for all people through our Lord Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the Commandments of God where we so miserably fail. He took our place to do what we could never do – live that perfect, God-pleasing life. He took upon Himself our sins and walked the way of sorrows to Calvary’s hill where He was crucified and shed His holy, precious blood to wash our sins away. Then He rose from the dead and conquered death and the devil.
Believing and trusting in Him as the Son of God and our only Savior, we live the Christian life. We do not live a Christian life to earn heaven; that is not possible! Instead, we live a Christian life as a life of thanksgiving to our gracious God. The Christian life is our way of saying, “Thank You, dear heavenly Father, for sending Your Son to be our Savior!” In the words of the poet, we say:
“I will not work my soul to save;
That work my Lord has done.
But I will work like any slave,
For love of God’s dear Son!”
We pray:
“Renew me, O eternal Light,
And let my heart and soul be bright,
Illumined with the light of grace
That issues from Thy holy face.
Destroy in me the lust of sin,
From all impureness make me clean;
Oh, grant me power and strength, my God,
To strive against my flesh and blood!
Grant that I only Thee may love,
And seek those things which are above,
Till I behold Thee face to face,
O Light eternal, through Thy grace.” Amen.