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Philadelphia metro (revised 10/17)
By John | October 17, 2008
From the Word: Standing in line (from Psalm 101)
”My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.” (Psalm 101:6-7 NASB)
David says he who is blameless will minister to him, as if people were standing in line to serve him - and maybe they were! He sets a high standard for those who will serve in his court. At my first reading of this psalm, David seems prideful to expect people to want to compete for a chance to serve him. How arrogant, I thought. But then, he was the king. Of course people would jump at the chance to serve in the court of the king! And David is setting the bar at nothing less than he is demanding of himself, “I will give heed to the blameless way…I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart” (v2).
What an excellent challenge! Am I ’standing in line’ to serve the King? Not a king like David, but the King of kings - Jesus! What kind of competition is there to apply for a position in the service of the Creator of the Universe? My human nature looks to find the acceptable minimum performance rather than strive to the highest standard. Am I seeking wholeheartedly to be a man of blameless integrity? How does my resume read?
Lord , I want to serve You in whatever capacity You place me. But I want it to be in Your service, and apply myself with determination to qualifying as a blameless man, a man of integrity, who “speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2). Yet my flesh steps in and blindsides me! Forgive me for the thoughtless lie I quickly blurted out yesterday. I don’t want to be like the Pharisee who thinks he is doing just fine, but to accept my need for You to use others to point out my inability even to see my own sin. Lord, I bring my blindness to you, and I thank you that there are people in my life who are able to see the contradiction between what I think I am in my heart and how I really live. I commit myself to being a man of integrity it with all my heart, that You might be pleased and honored by my thoughts, words, and actions. But I need Your help and the help of others. I cannot do it alone. Amen.
Please pray with us:
This Sunday is missions Sunday at our local church home. Along with several other visiting missionaries, I have the opportunity to present our ministry here in the Philadelphia metro region to one of the Sunday school classes. Please pray with us that God will use the presentations, not just mine, but those of all the missionaries, to stir the hearts and spirits of those in whom He is working to grow in their heart and vision for what it means to serve Him, whether it is in vocational ministry or in the context of life as most people live it out. Thanks.
Topics: In the Word and Prayer |