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Friday, April 20, 2012

The Lord's Flashlight

Psalm 19:8b-9 The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

One of the most common descriptions given of scripture is that of "light", "shedding light" or "enlightenment".  In the verses above, we see three more descriptions of the Bible in Psalm 19.  All of them explain what scripture does in leading a person to the goal of Godly Living. 

1. The Lord's flashlight is pure commandments enlightening the eyes
What is the only way you can see the value of Godly living?  Through the scriptures.  Psalm 119:9 describes how can a young man keep his way pure, by paying cloose attention to the word of God.  Not only does the Bible give me "sight" to follow God, but "insight" to follow God all the more.  If I were to direct you to a dark cave with a sign marked: "cave of diamonds", you may venture in, but then have skepticism about whether or not its worth it.  However if I hand you a flashlight, as soon as you shine the light, the diamonds shimmer and shine.  It then won't take any amount of coercion to get you into the "cave of diamonds".  Thats what the Bible does for the Christian - both new convert and "saved for years" believer.  The Bible shows us that value and worth of living the Christian life. 

2. As the Lord's flashlight, The Scriptures bring to us the fear of the Lord, and will endure forever
The fear of the Lord describes what it means to hate sin, to reverence God and to make fellowship with Him your highest priority.  Only the scriptures can "shine light" on that truth and make it the desire of your heart.  Scripture's light exposes the flippancy that can attend our Christian walk in the areas of worship and daily life. 

As the Lord's flashlight, this quality of making me desire God more than sin & desire His Glory above anything else is an unending resource for the Christian.  Unlike a flashlight whose batteries wear out, I can always turn to the scriptures to cultivate a healthy "fear of God" - for they endure forever. (1 Peter 1:25)  The Scriptures accurately show me who God really is, and why it is I not only must reverence Him, but why loving Him is the greatest thing you can do.

3. The Lord's flashlight are judgements which are true and righteous altogether
Truth has to do with the reality of things, and righteousness has to do with right living for God.  Does truth and righteousness rank on your priority list?  If not, let the Lord's flashlight shine into your heart to show you how they are to be prized in your daily life.  A Christian life is marked by the desire for God's truth and holiness. (Romans 7:22; 2 Peter 1:3-4)  By turning to the Lord's flashlight, the scriptures, you can cultivate the desire for truth and righteousness - for the scriptures themselves are by their very nature those very things!