Note: For the first 18 years of Today’s Word (from 1997-2015) I did not take any breaks, not even when I was on vacation with my family. Since 2015, the Lord has led me to take a few breaks, and I am thankful for them. It gives me time to recharge and relax. Next week our young children will be on Spring Break. I asked the Lord if I could take the week off and He gave me the green light. So next week I will not send out Today’s Word. I have (literally) thousands of messages on the website (http://todaysword.org) and in the app (https://subsplash.com/pinaministries/app), and I ask you to please look at both. I will be praying for you and I ask you to pray for me as I seek to enjoy our young children. After today’s message, the next message will be the day after Easter Sunday, April 2nd.
Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 19. We have been looking at Psalm 119. Today we will look at just two verses, 30 and 31, from The Passion Bible Translation (TPT).
David said:
(v.30) I’ve chosen to obey your truth and walk in the splendor-light of all that you teach me.
(v.31) Lord, don’t allow me to make a mess of my life, for I cling to your commands and follow them as closely as I can.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Obeying God and living the life of faith is a choice. David said, “I’ve chosen to obey your truth and walk in the splendor-light of all that you teach me.” (Psalm 119:30)
a) Obedience is not obedience if it is forced. God will not force you to do anything, because if He did, you would no longer be a free moral agent and the repercussions would be vast. Our worship would be fake, because it would not be genuine. Submission would be phony, because it would be forced. Sacrifice would be a worthless, because it would be orchestrated. The point of true worship and pure obedience is that it is an act of our own free will. God wants you to want Him with your heart. Anything less is forced obedience, which is not obedience at all.
b) The entire earth functions on system of cause-and-effect, sowing-and-reaping, and the free-will of humans. You have the choice to either follow or disregard God. You can choose to obey Him or ignore Him. This freedom to choose is what makes your obedience so precious in His sight. You have the freedom to choose, so when you willingly CHOOSE GOD, and you choose to walk in His ways, He is truly glorified. As thankful as you are that God chose you, God is equally honored when you willingly choose Him and you choose to become the man/woman He called you to be.
c) Simply put, God gave your the right to choose and He wants you to choose Him. The God of the universe wants you to want Him. When you do, when you willingly pursue Him as an act of your free will, He empowers you to live the life He planned for you before the world began!
2. Sin can make a mess of your life. David said, “Lord, don’t allow me to make a mess of my life, for I cling to your commands and follow them as closely as I can.” (Psalm 119:31)
a) The message of grace — that God loves us in spite of our sin and that we can never earn His love — is not a license to sin. God loves us and hates sin at the same time.
b) You are saved by grace. This means you are free FROM sin, not free TO sin.
c) God declared you righteous because of the righteousness of Jesus. If you sin you don’t lose your righteousness. This is where some mistake this message as a license to sin. Here’s the danger. Sin may not unravel your righteousness, but it will unravel your life.
d) If you are Born-Again, you are IN Christ and Christ is IN you. When you sin, God does not undo all that happened when you accepted Jesus as Lord. However, to be clear, you will reap what you sow. David said that he clinged to God’s commands, because he did not want to make a mess of his life. When David sinned with Bathsheba, God did not turn his back on David, but David still had to reap a bad harvest, because he had sown bad seen. Sin may not sever your relationship with God, but it can certainly ruin your life. Bottom line: don’t live a life of sin. Sin will make a mess of the one life you have.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I will my will to worship You. I know I have the right to choose. I declare that I choose YOU! I choose life and not death, blessing and not cursing, victory and never defeat! I choose to obey You and Your ways daily. I choose to abstain from sin and the repercussions of it. I know I will reap whatever I sow. Therefore, I sow love, peace, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, and money. And I declare, by faith, that I will reap everything I sow. I live my life in honor of Jesus’ death for me. I live to worship and glorify Your name! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
