Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”
Our Bible verse for today: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord’s instruction!” Psalm 119:1 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “The best life you can have is one lived according to God’s commands.”
In the Bible God has given us all the guidance we need in order to live life well. In fact, the best life you can possibly have is a life that is lived according to God’s commands.
The Bible provides us with a clear description of the boundaries within which God wants us to live. Those boundaries are actually very wide and offer us great freedom and many choices, but there are God-ordained limits to how we are to live. As long was we stay within the boundaries He has established for us, we will be fine. It’s when we wander outside of the Biblical boundaries that we get into trouble.
This is what the Psalmist was talking about in Psalm 119:1. Living Biblically leads to the best life a person can have. This was also a major theme for the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote the majority of the New Testament and most of it was all about how to live the Christian life well. In Ephesians 5:8-12 he wrote:
“Walk as children of light – for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth – discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.”
Now listen to how Eugene Peterson renders that same passage in his paraphrase of the Bible, “The Message”:
“Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see.”
Wow, is that ever true! Look closely at the lives of those who live un-Biblically – participating in the deeds of darkness such as substance abuse, sexual immorality, unethical and even criminal behavior. They end up with broken relationships, sick bodies, bankruptcy, jail time, etc. Then compare that to those who intentionally obey the commands of the Lord, living Christ-honoring lives. No contest! Jesus wins hands down! Life with God is always better than life without God.
Choose to live your life within the Biblical boundaries established by God, honoring Him with your life, and you can trust that He will give you the best life you could possibly have.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 