I am off to a late start this morning--woke up late, and did not want to skip either my quiet time or my exercise time, so my day's activities are getting a bit crowded here on the front end! But I wanted to take a few minutes to post anyway.
Psalm 17 has some wonderful guidance for us! I choose to write out verse 4:
"Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer."
This is a pretty direct "secret." If we want to know how to stay away from the "paths of the destroyer," we need to follow the "word of Your lips." And how can we know what that word is if we are not reading it??? I know that is a pretty simple thing to say but so often we who claim to be Christians are so busy doing other "good" things every day that we are failing to read God's instructional Love Letter to us. And I am just as guilty on this as anyone else! But with God's help, I am changing this!
Every once in a while, my study Bible has a much longer study note that they put at the bottom of the page. Today I came to one of those longer study notes, and it was so good that I copied the whole thing into my Bible notebook. So I wanted to also share that with you here.
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"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:30). There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not concent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
And how this is accomplished Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. "It is written," He said. And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4). Every promise in God's word is ours. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. "Thy word," says the psalmist, "have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." (Psalms 119:11; 17:4)
Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 123
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Isn't that beautiful and encouraging? By the word of God. That is the answer.
Have a beautiful day! And make sure to read God's Word today!
~Susan
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