| Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A life well spent”
Our Bible verse for today: “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Leave a legacy of integrity”
I know a woman who sometimes tells stories about her adoptive father. He was a kind man with strong faith who had a heart for visiting people in nursing homes, especially on special mornings like Christmas. When this woman was a young girl her father used to take her on those visits with him. Those are some of her fondest memories and to this day (she is now a senior citizen herself), she visits in nursing homes, especially on Christmas morning.
I know another woman who loves to tell you (in loving and admiring ways) about her mother. She was a kind woman of great faith and strong integrity who taught those character traits to her children and grandchildren. This friend of mine is now a grandmother herself, and her mother has been in heaven for many decades, but to this day she frequently tells stories about “My sweet mama. She was such a saint!” (In my opinion this friend of mine has the same admirable character traits of her mother. Over the course of her own life she became just like the woman she admired so much.) I know a young man who tells those same kinds of stories about his grandfather, and he would like nothing more than to be like him.
The thing that strikes me about those stories, and so many others just like them, is that none of the people being described are remembered for having been rich, famous, highly educated, successful in business, or for any other worldly achievement. In every case what is admired and remembered about them was their great strength of character and their unassailable integrity. These were men and woman of strong faith in Christ who lived what they professed to believe. In most cases they lived simple lives with few worldly possessions or accomplishments, but they were rich in the ways that really mattered.
In Psalm 119:165 the Psalmist was writing about a person who loved God’s Word and who was committed to living by it. As a result, the person was a man or woman of strong faith, admirable character, and great integrity.
I encourage you to know the Bible, and then to live by it. A lifetime of Biblical living shapes a person’s character in remarkable and memorable ways. Such people have great influence on those around them, and they are fondly remembered here on earth long after they have gone to heaven. That is a life well spent and it can be your legacy too.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim |
Oak Hill Baptist Church