 CLICK HERE to listen to this week's devotional on the Walking Points Podcast, or listen to it on your favorite podcast platform. There's always extra content on the audio version that I pray will bless you. Psalm 19:7 – The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. God’s Treasure Trove Psalm 19 is a treasure trove of wisdom for the person who is pursuing godliness. Like Psalm 119, words used throughout this psalm, such as law, statutes, precepts, commands, ordinances, fear, etc., describe the same thing, the revealed Word of God. This is not just any word, but a word revealed for the purpose of reviving our souls, making us wise, giving our hearts joy and our eyes light. Furthermore, God reminds us in Psalm 19 that his Word endures forever, is perfect, trustworthy, radiant, pure, sure, and righteous. God’s Mirror God also teaches us in Psalm 19 that it is through his word that the godly person can discern his or her errors (cf. 119:9-11). James tells us in his epistle that God’s Word is like a mirror that reveals to us our true reflection. How loving and merciful our God is to give us such light in a dark world. How gracious and compassionate he is to reveal himself to us with such clarity that we may reach out to him and know him, which is eternal life (John 17:3). God’s Good Provision For the purpose of this devotion, I want to focus on verse 7 of Psalm 19. In this verse we are humbled by our Lord’s goodness. His law (his Word) is perfect, just as he is in his very essence. Such knowledge of God and his perfect Word is overwhelming to us. And yet, it revives our soul. It gives life where there is none. It strengthens the soul that is weak. It rejuvenates the soul that is weary. O Lord, who are we that you are mindful of us? To God alone be the glory! By the Word of God incarnate and the Word of God inscripturated, (which bears witness to him), we may come to know God and learn how to love and follow him more faithfully in every sphere of our lives. The godly person must realize that without God’s Word, we are left wandering aimlessly and perilously in the world. We can expect no growth as men and women of God without the rich nutrients given in and through his Word (John 15). That is why it must dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). There’s no meaningful growth without such scripture-saturation. That’s the revival of the soul I desire. How about you? Take God’s Word For It We can trust God’s Word. We need not doubt it as Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3. We are constantly being tempted to doubt what God has revealed to us. Such is the temptation from our adversary, and we are foolish to give in to it. Yet God has told us he has revealed himself to us in and through his Word – his character, works, love, commands, and promises. He encourages us to understand that the purpose of his self-disclosure is to make us wise. Wisdom, the Bible tells us, means “skill for living.” God wants us to skillfully grow in the likeness of Christ and faithfully live as godly people in this world. In his book, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Donald Whitney asks his reader if they are “being governed increasingly by the Word of God.” Well, how about it? Does that describe you? I want to encourage you pursue this “governance” more and more in your lives. Scripture is God’s gift to you. Let me know how I can help you in this pursuit. Walking Points
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 CLICK HERE to listen to this week's devotional on the Walking Points Podcast, or listen to it on your favorite podcast platform. (For this devotional, there are two podcast episodes!!!) There's always extra content on the audio version that I pray will bless you. Autopilot Have you ever caught yourself cruising through life, somewhere between autopilot and sleeping at the wheel? “Wise” would not be a word we would use to describe ourselves during those lapses of intentional living. The Apostle Paul addresses this very thing in Ephesians 5. Earlier in Ephesians, Paul dealt with how those who claim to love and follow Christ ought to live. He wrote, Ephesians 4:1 – …I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 5:1 – Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children Ephesians 5:8, 10 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… [10] and find out what pleases the Lord. (Emphases Added) On Purpose Living Paul taught clearly in those verses that there’s nothing casual or accidental about living the Christian life. It takes purpose, commitment, and intentionality. In light of those verses, let’s take a deeper look at how Paul described this lifestyle in Ephesians 5. In verse 15, Paul wrote, Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, How are you doing on that count? Does that verse describe how you live on any given day? Perhaps it does portray many areas of your life. But how about your faith? Are you “very careful” in how you walk with Christ? I’ve discovered something about myself. I’ve noticed when I “don’t have time” to spend in prayer or in reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word in the morning, I’m usually not very “careful” in how I live throughout the rest of the day. 1 Peter 5:8 says, Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. When I’m not being careful in my walk with Christ, I become a sitting duck for the devil to devour. It becomes much easier for me to fall prey to the temptations in my life. That doesn’t mean God has abandoned me. Yet it does indicate I’m not prepared for what the day may bring. It’s as though I’m choosing not to wear the full armor of God. I would never say that was my motivation, but that’s the result. The word “careful” in our text means “accurate and exact.” It carries the idea of closely examining or investigating something. In this case, Paul is talking about our “walk” with Christ or living the Christian life. Learn from Poor Pilgrim My favorite book, outside of the Bible, is Pilgrim’s Progress. The first part of the story tells us about a man who discovered his great need for Christ and how he came to faith. However, most of the book focuses on the pilgrim’s pursuit to live the Christian life after he came to Christ. Chapter after chapter reveals to us through the pilgrim’s journey what happens when he’s not being “careful in how he lives.” We watch helplessly as he makes mistakes, takes wrong roads, listens to bad advice, and often ends up in gut-wrenching predicaments. Brothers, we shouldn’t laugh at the poor pilgrim because his experience is ours. Through the smallness of our daily surrenders to sin and temptation, we too veer off the road, on one side or the other, and end up miles from where we should be. When we do such things, we reveal we’re not “being careful in how we live.” Where We Find Wisdom Paul next provides substance to what “being careful” as Christians looks like. At the end of Ephesians 5:15 he writes, Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, This verse is tied to verse 17, which says, Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. If you want to be wise, you need to understand what the Lord’s will is, and then do it. Paul’s exhortation to “be careful” by being wise and not foolish is not an ivory tower academic or intellectual exercise. The word “wisdom” in Scripture means “skill for living.” We discover and acquire this skill as we understand what the Lord’s will is and, in his power, obey it. If you don’t know what pleases or displeases God, then it is awfully hard to please God. God isn’t glorified by our ignorance and foolishness. We show we’re wise when we understand what God’s will is. And once we understand it, we then must do it. Listen to God Romans 12:2 explains how we can learn that. Observe these words, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. A good question here would be: How do we renew our minds? One key way is to regularly read, study, and meditate upon God’s Word. So often in prayer we want to do all the talking. We essentially say things like, “Dear God, here’s my list of things I need you to give me or fix for me. Amen.” That’s often what our prayers sound like. There is certainly a place for bringing God our needs. Of course there is. But a transformed life and renewed mind happen as we listen to God. And we listen to God as we interact with his Word, whether it’s in private devotions, worship on the Lord’s Day, or in a Bible study with a smaller group of believers. I’m able to pray much more effectively when I know what God’s will is, when I know what pleases him and brings glory to his name. Living wisely, the way Paul has in mind, takes place once we consider what God has said on a particular subject and then act on it. That’s what it means to “be careful” and to “live wisely.” We’re called to be very careful in how we live. We’re called to be wise and not unwise. And we become wise as we understand what the Lord’s will is and then do it. Walking Points · What are the areas of your life in which you’re living most carefully? · What are you doing in those areas that help you live wisely? · What are the areas of your life in which you are living least carefully? · What seems to be the main obstacle that is keeping you from living more faithfully in those areas? · Are you living carefully, wisely, and intentionally in the area of your faith? · What are two things you could do to help you grow wiser and more careful as a Christian? Come up with a plan and ask two friends to hold you accountable to it. Prayer |
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Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: (Proverbs 23:19)
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
(Matthew 7:13-14) 
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