Living a Careful Life

Last Tuesday night I traveled to First Baptist Church in Keiser, Arkansas in order to spend the evening with a group of ladies from Mississippi County Baptist Association. The topic for the night was "Living a Careful Life." Our time in the Word was amazing. We laughed together as well as shared stories and life experiences. Certainly--- God's Word challenged all of us!

The session "Living a Careful Life" speaks to the heart of every woman who loves Jesus and longs to live a life that is entirely whole towards Him. The key verse is found in Psalm 101:2-4. The session is divided into three parts--- our inward reality, our outward expressions, and our daily resolve. This week and next, I am going to post a three part series summarizing the teachings from "Living a Careful Life." I invite you to join me in the study of God's Word!

"Living a Careful Life"

Part 1--- Our Inward Reality

Key Verse:

“I will be careful to lead a blameless life when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with a blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.” Psalm 101:2-4

Our inward reality speaks to who we are at the very core of our being. You can diagnosis your inward reality by asking this question--- "When it is just me and the Lord or me and my close family members, how do I think, act or react?"

In Psalm 101:2-4, David defined how he longed to think, act, or react before the Lord and his close family members. David said, "I will be careful to lead a blameless life." The word blameless that is used in verse 2 means to be complete, sincere, or entirely whole towards God.

The idea of being complete, sincere, or entirely whole towards God is challenging. Perhaps you will admit that your walk with the Lord does not measure up to these high standards. If so, you can take heart--- you are not alone! I will admit that I am right there with you. In fact, every believer in Jesus Christ is on a journey to wholeness or completeness in Christ. The truth of the matter is this--- as long as we are on this earth, there is renewing work to be done in our life!

Scripture gives us a picture of the blameless life. Below you will find nine passages of Scripture that speak to the heart of living complete, sincere, or entirely whole lives in Christ. Take a quick look and see how your life measures up.

• Genesis 6:9- “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” We must learn how to walk in step with the Lord. Often we find it easy to run ahead or lag behind. We must fight this urge and live patient lives that are in step with our Savior.

• 2 Samuel 22:24 David speaking, “I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.” We must have a serious view of sin in our life. Sin keeps us from hearing from the Lord and sensing His sweet presence in our daily life.

• Job 1:1- “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” We must fear God and shun evil. Fearing God and shunning evil requires a proper perspective of God in our life. When we have a proper perspective of God, we understand that God is in charge--- we are not!

• Psalm 15:2 (David in response to the question, “who may dwell with God?”) “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.” We must speak the truth from our heart and focus on living right before God.

• Psalm 26:1 (A cry from David) “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.” We must trust in the Lord no matter how difficult our situation may appear to be.

• Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.” We must allow the Word of God to be our standard, our rulebook, and the guide for our life.

• Philippians 1:9-10 (Paul’s pray for the Philippians and believers everywhere) “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.” We must live our lives with the character quality of love as the central focus--- loving God and loving others.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We must be blameless in every area of our life--- Spirit, Soul, and Body. It is so important to note the inward to outward flow of this process.

• 2 Peter 3:14- Peter speaking to believers says, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, (the day of the Lord) make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” We must participate in the process of becoming blameless. Do you hear the call for ownership in the blameless process? I do. We are to make every effort to be found blameless!

So the question before you today is this--- "Are you growing in your love relationship with Jesus and as a result are you living a blameless life?" I hope so! God's Word provides us with the necessary instruction for living a blameless life. Right now, review the nine verses listed in today's post. Please share with me the verse that challenges you the most and why. Then seek to obey God's Word and walk in step with Him!

Love!

Andrea@TVM