True Change
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Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.
Psalm 119:33-40
To follow Jesus faithfully requires two things. Knowledge and desire.
The Psalmist asks God to teach Him the ways of His decrees. To know what pleases God and to know what He hates, we must have knowledge. We must know Him and what He says.
Do you know your Bible very well? Do you read it to know God better and to know what He loves and hates?
But as the Psalmist recognises, a lack of knowledge isn’t the only problem. Sometimes we know what’s right and wrong and the issue isn’t our head. It’s our heart.
When I choose to lie. It’s my heart’s desire to avoid disappointing someone or my heart’s desire to make myself look great. Or selfish gain. If you boil it down. It’s a desire to please myself instead of a desire to please God and glorify Him.
So how do I change?
Well, change begins by bringing these things to God. Asking for forgiveness and asking God to change our hearts. That’s what we ultimately need.
Thankfully. In His kindness. God has given us a new heart that is capable of desiring to follow Him faithfully. And He is at work through His Spirit to continue the work of turning our hearts from desiring worthless things to things of eternal value.
Ask God to be at work in your heart and mind today.
For Today:
Pray: Praise the Father for His patience with us and for the gift of a new heart. Give thanks for Jesus whose desire was to please His Father. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to change your heart that you would desire to honour and glorify Him.
Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.
Psalm 119:33-40
To follow Jesus faithfully requires two things. Knowledge and desire.
The Psalmist asks God to teach Him the ways of His decrees. To know what pleases God and to know what He hates, we must have knowledge. We must know Him and what He says.
Do you know your Bible very well? Do you read it to know God better and to know what He loves and hates?
But as the Psalmist recognises, a lack of knowledge isn’t the only problem. Sometimes we know what’s right and wrong and the issue isn’t our head. It’s our heart.
When I choose to lie. It’s my heart’s desire to avoid disappointing someone or my heart’s desire to make myself look great. Or selfish gain. If you boil it down. It’s a desire to please myself instead of a desire to please God and glorify Him.
So how do I change?
Well, change begins by bringing these things to God. Asking for forgiveness and asking God to change our hearts. That’s what we ultimately need.
Thankfully. In His kindness. God has given us a new heart that is capable of desiring to follow Him faithfully. And He is at work through His Spirit to continue the work of turning our hearts from desiring worthless things to things of eternal value.
Ask God to be at work in your heart and mind today.
For Today:
- How are you growing in your knowledge of God & His commands?
- Do you desire to please God?
- How could you grow in your desire to please God?
Pray: Praise the Father for His patience with us and for the gift of a new heart. Give thanks for Jesus whose desire was to please His Father. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to change your heart that you would desire to honour and glorify Him.
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