Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Living in Integrity and Righteousness

Bible Reading: Psalms 119:9-11

Key verse: Psalm 119:9 Where with shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed there to according to thy word.

DEVOTION

A teacher once asked a student,  “ Son, if you found a wallet with a large amount of money, what would you do?” The student replied, “If no one was watching me, I would keep it .“ The teacher said , “Son you are honest, but you lack integrity. “ The student has demonstrated his honesty by admitting to the teacher what he would do but his act of keeping the wallet that did not belong to him showed lack of integrity. Honesty is a habit and integrity is a core value. As parents of young teenage children, we start by instilling in them from their early years the importance of truth -  don’t tell lies, be honest in your actions. And now as they grow older, instead of the word “truth” and “lies” we tend to use the word “integrity” more in our conversations. If we maintain our integrity in small things that no one sees, we’re much more likely to do so with the important things that people do see. It takes conducting both our private and public life well to be a person of integrity.
In Psalm 119: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” Many of us think that holiness can be achieved without God’s help by following the written guidelines, rules and regulations. But God is not looking for an outward form of holiness. He wants an inward change of your heart, for a pure heart will produce pure conduct. If your heart is pure, you will not desire to act in a way that dishonors God. It is futile to think that we can achieve this ourselves. We need to rely on the grace of God, for which we need to be empowered by the close relationship we have with our Lord. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
It is the Bible that we need, to teach us in such a way and applied by the Spirit that we will see ourselves as God sees us, and then that we will see Christ in all his fullness. In Romans 1: 17, we read “ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ” The righteous will live by faith. ““ If we want to live faithfully in the world, we must devote ourselves to the Scriptures. To think rightly about the evil around you, then, the word of God must be in your heart, in your mind, and on your tongue. God has given it to you to keep you. So, when our young ones ask, “How in the world am I supposed to make it through my life living with integrity and righteousness?”  We should say “Read your Bible. Read your Bible. Because this book is breathed out by God. It will bring clarity to the darkness of your heart, and it will lead you in the pathway of purity.”

PRAYER

 Father, thank you for the Bible. Help us to understand it. Help us to take a long, hard look at where we are and what we’re doing. Help us to turn our gaze towards Lord Jesus Christ that we may find our hope and our life and all that we need. We pray this in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 "Righteousness means we are pursuing a conduct that is in accordance with God’s will and is pleasing to Him." -Alistair Begg


    Sheba Oommen
            Carmel Mar Thoma Church,Boston.
 

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