Tuesday, February 19, 2013

What is my norm for today?


Throughout this year, each day of the month, I'm "Treasure Hunting" in a Psalm. I've created a "Ponder Every Morsel of Truth" Book to record the truths as I learn them. The nineteenth of each month, I'm studying Psalm 15. Here's what Treasure I found today.

Only those who ·are innocent [walk innocently] and who do ·what is right [righteousness]. Such people speak the truth from their hearts. Psalm 15:2 (EXB)

Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and sincere. Psalm 15:2 (GNT)

The word "walk" in the Scriptures is often used to denote the manner of life; life being represented as a journey. 
The word here rendered "uprightly," or, in the Hebrew, "perfectly," means that which is complete in all its parts; where no part is missing or is defective.
And worketh righteousness - Does right. That is, he does what is proper to be done in relation to God and to man.
And speaketh the truth in his heart - He uses language that is sincere, and that is in accordance with his real belief. Barnes' Notes on the Bible
There is a progression here. First, walk. One’s manner of life, habits be that of obeying God. Secondly, because one has the habit of obeying God, his/her actions are right. And lastly, because of the habit of obeying God, and doing what is right, his/her speech is true as well. 

Habits. Routine. The norm.  I’m a very habitual person. I guess I never realized how I stick to habits, until I noticed Max, my parakeet following my routines. Max has been with me 10 years. And he is knows the daily routine. For example, at night I first shut off the computer, the TV or radio, followed by the printer, then the lights. Max moves to a particular perch as soon as I turn off the TV/radio. Then when I shut off the printer,he expects me to ‘pick him up’. If I go back to the bedroom without him—I hear about it! If after a few minutes I don’t return to the living room to get him, Max flies to the bedroom. And if I’m late at starting the bedtime routine, Max will often put himself to bed! Max knows the norm and acts accordingly. 

Psalm 15:2 is about living a life that is habitual in obeying God. Not habitual in the time or way I obey God, rather that obeying God is a constant and affects my actions, speech, and how I think about things. Obeying God is the norm.  

Lately I’ve noticed on Twitter how someone will post a PG-13 or R rated cartoon, or a rant full of swear words, then the next post will be a Bible verse, or a statement of their belief in God. Those are contradictory. 

Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My ·brothers and sisters [fellow believers], this should not happen. James 3:10 (EXB)

Whether is be my twitter posts, blog posts, Facebook posts, my daily actions, speech... everything I do and say reflects my heart. If my heart is ‘in tune’ with God, then I’ll act and speak accordingly. However, if I ignore God and His Word, and make the choice to disobey Him, my actions and speech will reflect that as well. 

The more I learn about God, the more impact I allow God to have in my life, the more I make obeying God the norm, my actions, attitude, and speech will honor God. 

Each day I, several times a day, I need to ask myself this question: “What is my norm for today?” To create a positive day, I must continue to create the habit of loving and obeying God, so that my life will honor God.

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