Spiritual Passion

"Spiritual Passion" (Psalm 119:5)

God's Word reminded me again of the benefit of reading it through every year. During my reading earlier this week, I came across one little line that captured my attention. "O that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes."

The words struck me with their passion. They reminded me of the need for commitment and obedience to the Word of God. This one line of inspired Scripture confronts the apathy and disinterest so many believers display toward God's Word. Perhaps you need to join me in thinking about the psalmist's spiritual passion.

Let me share some of the questions that came to my mind as I meditated on these ten words. "Do I share this kind of passion for obedience to God's Word?" I contemplated my own attitude toward God's Word and what I know it teaches me about walking with God. God's Spirit prompted me to think about the error of selective obedience. Genuine passion for matching my walk with God's instruction demands that I pursue obedience in all things.

Another question also came to mind. "Do I know God's statues well enough to allow them to "direct my ways?" I thought about my biblical literacy. If the instruction that comes from God's Word will direct my life, I've got to know that instruction. That realization led me to think about my ongoing effort to know God's Word and apply it to my life. I had to review my interest in and efforts to go deeper in the
Bible.

What about you? How passionate are you about knowing and living out God's Word? Do the words of Scripture consistently direct your life? None of us who read the Freedom Fighter will know genuine freedom apart from ongoing immersion in and application of His statues. It just won't happen.

The 119th psalm is the longest single section of the Bible. The writer revisits this need for a passionate application of God's Word to our lives throughout the psalm. I invite you to spend time through the next week reading and thinking about the influence of God's Word in your life. - John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 11; Isaiah 37-38; Colossians 3

A Quote Worth Pondering: Our society is filled with runaways, dropouts,and quitters. The epidemic of walking away has hit our land with effects as devastating as the bubonic plague, and it has destroyed millions of effective lives and relationships. We are so self-centered that we have ceased to lay down our lives for others. We have seen others faint or walk away and we have followed in their weakness. We have fainted when we could have persevered by exchanging our strength for His! With His
strength, not only could we have kept on walking, we could have run! --
Kay Arthur